Magical Realist Tale ‘6TM’ and ‘Searching for SmarterChild,’ About One of the Earliest Chatbots, Win Top Industry Awards at Ji.hlava Festival

“6TM,” directed by Karim Akalay and produced by Walid Bekhti, won the New Visions Award for the most promising European project at the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival on Friday. The film is described as “a Belgian family comedy in three chapters, rooted in magic realism and the resilience of a community.”

In the film, which is set over one scorching summer in the Cité Modèle, Brussels’ largest housing project, three stories unfold across one family. Two kids chase a magic lamp to keep their wheelchair-using friend from being forced out by broken elevators. A teenage girl builds a team of misfits for a soccer tournament. A mother rallies her neighbors to uncover who stole the rain.

The jury said, “With its imaginative blend of magical realism, humor and social relevance, ‘6TM ‘ offers a fresh vision of European cinema. Rooted in lived experience and shaped through co-creation, ‘6TM’ challenges conventional representations and opens up new possibilities for who gets to tell stories, whose voices are heard, and who sees themselves reflected on screen. We believe this approach holds extraordinary promise for the next generation of both audiences and filmmakers, demonstrating how cinema can become more inclusive and participatory.”

The jury was composed of Katrine Kiilgaard, managing director of CPH:DOX in Denmark; Anda Ionescu, managing partner and producer at Tangaj Production in Romania; and Robert Y. Chang, co-producer of American Documentary at POV in the U.S.

The award was presented in cooperation with UPP, which donated an in-kind grant for visual post-production worth about 15,000 Euros, and Soundaquare, which provided sound mixing and a final sound master, with an estimated value of 5,000 Euros.

The New Visions Award for the most promising U.S. project went to “Searching for SmarterChild,” directed by Lindsey Sitz and Zan Gillies, and produced by Erin Williams-Weir.

The U.S.-Canadian film looks back to 2003, and the creation of SmarterChild, an online chatbot. He became a sounding board for a generation. People confided in him, insulted him and propositioned him.

Twenty years later, as AI becomes deeply embedded in our lives, what does our treatment of the first internet chatbot say about us? By revisiting our cringe-worthy conversations, the film explores the darkest parts of human nature, accountability, and what it takes to change, not only the technologies we create, but ourselves.

The jury said, ” ‘Searching for SmarterChild’ takes us back to the early days of the internet to confront one of the most pressing questions of our time: what does our relationship with artificial intelligence reveal about ourselves? By revisiting their interactions with one of the earliest chatbots of their childhoods, the filmmakers offer a perspective on today’s fascination with AI, challenging us to reflect not only on the technologies we create, but also on how we treat them and each other. The jury wishes to recognize the project’s promise to engage audiences through an original, entertaining and thought-provoking approach to a subject that will profoundly shape our collective future.”

The award was presented in partnership with AmDocs, with the winner receiving $7,000 in cash.

The festival also accorded the APA World Excellence Award to renowned Danish producer Signe Byrge Sørensen. The award honors her “outstanding contribution to international film production and her remarkable achievements in world cinema.”

Further New Visions Forum Award Winners

CANNES DOCS – MARCHÉ DU FILM AWARD
“Iridescence”
Directors: Dominika Kováčová, Kilhan Wittock
Producers: Matej Sotník, Klára Tasovská
Countries: Slovakia, Belgium, Italy

DAE AWARD
“Monument of Revolution”
Director: Mladen Ivanović
Producer: Tamara Puizina
Countries: Montenegro, Croatia

#DOCS CONNECT TASKOVSKI TRAINING AWARD
“Planet A”
Director: Emelie Mahdavian
Producer: Charlotte Hailstone
Country: United Kingdom

DOCS BY THE SEA AWARD
“Daughters of the Pit”
Director: Anshul Chauhan
Producers: Mina Moteki, Anshul Chauhan
Country: Japan

EURODOC AWARD
“If Only the Pines Could Speak”
Director: Yelyzaveta Myshkalenko
Producer: Diana Nazaruk
Country: Ukraine

JACOB BURNS FILM CENTER AWARD
“Planet A”
Director: Emelie Mahdavian
Producer: Charlotte Hailstone
Country: United Kingdom

LIGHTDOX AWARD
“Male Fantasies”
Director: Max Bowens
Producers: Ryan Krivoshey, Sam Hewison
Country: United States

MEDITALENTS RESIDENCY AWARD
“The 13th Fish”
Director: Sara Stijović
Producers: Sara Stijović, Marija Vlahović
Country: Montenegro

SHEFFIELD DOCFEST NETWORKING AWARD
“A Spectre Is Haunting Europe”
Director: Robo Mihály
Producers: Anna Mach Rumanová, Alena Kapinajová
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic

RAFF RESIDENCY AWARD
“Words We Never Say”
Director: Agnieszka Zwiefka
Producers: Agnieszka Zwiefka, Iza Igel
Countries: Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain

BRATISLAVA INDUSTRY DAYS AWARD
“If Only the Pines Could Speak”
Director: Yelyzaveta Myshkalenko
Producer: Diana Nazaruk
Country: Ukraine